ISLES OF SCILLY, 17 JUNE 2017
The third stop of the ÖTILLÖ Swimrun World Series saw 200 participants in teams of two from 17 different nations taking on the beautiful course at the Isles of Scilly, situated 45 km off the coast of south-west England. The competitors tackled a total of 38 km of trail running and open water swimming on and between the Scillonian islands in the splendid summer weather. The water was calm as a mirror, helping the racers get past the long tough swims and speeding up the pace. The first team over the finish line, Stefano Prestinoni and Fredrik Axegård (SWE), smashed last year’s winning time with 20 minutes, finishing after 4 hours, 42 minutes and 8 seconds of racing. Just as impressive was the first mixed team, Diane Sadik (SUI) and Henrik Wahlberg (SWE), finishing second overall, only 13 minutes after the leaders with the time 4:55:55! The winning women’s team, reigning world champion Annika Ericsson and Elisabet Pärsdotter Westman (SWE), finished 5:28:58 and 12th overall.
“It was an amazing race. We struggled quite hard as the temperatures were changing so much from air to water. The air was hot and the water was cold. But the swimming was fantastic, the water was so calm it was like swimming in the pool!” said Stefano Prestinoni from the winning team Swimshop.se after the finish line. The strong Swedish duo was second at last year’s edition and had a clear goal for this year, to win! And they won strong after taking the lead at an early stage of the race. The winning mixed team, Diane Sadik (SUI) and Henrik Wahlberg (SWE), were close to the leading pack throughout the whole course and managed to pass and pull away from some of the top men’s teams to clinch second overall. A great performance and a reminder that women in swimrun are a force to recon with.
The Isles of Scilly are like a temperate, tropical island paradise with incredible plant life, white sandy beaches and more historical sites per square meter than anywhere else in the UK. The close distances between the islands and beautiful scenery are a perfect venue for a swimrun race.
The Scillonian archipelago consists of around 200 islands, islets and rocks and the 2nd edition of ÖTILLÖ Isles of Scilly had a total of 29,5 km of trailrunning and no less than 8 000 meters of swimming in the Atlantic Ocean. To perform, the athletes need to be as strong of a swimmer as of a trail runner. The eight different swim sections involved two big ocean swims of 2 000 and 2 500 metres to and from St Mary of Scilly, spicing up the challenge. The trails are narrow in the heather, sometimes on rock, and it is easy to stumble. The hot summer weather made it even more difficult to run in a wetsuit.
Eight top teams at ÖTILLÖ Swimrun Isles of Scilly qualify to the ÖTILLÖ Swimrun World Championship 2017, on 4 September 2017 in the Stockholm Archipelago; top 3 men, top 3 mixed, top 2 women.
On Sunday 18 June, 35 teams will take part in the Sprint race, a shorter version of the world series event, a 15 km Swimrun journey around the island of St Mary at the Scilly islands.
Top 3 results ÖTILLÖ Swimrun Isles of Scilly, 17 June 2017
Men
- Stefano Prestinoni and Fredrik Axegård (SWE), Team Swimshop.se, 4:42:28
- Sebastian Bleitgen and Frank Mertins (GER), SwimrunART, 4:57:37
- Johan Carlsson and Joakim Brunzell (SWE), Team Nynäshamns Ångbryggeri, 4:59:44
Mixed
- Diane Sadik (SUI) and Henrik Wahlberg (SWE), Team Swimrunshop.com, 4:55:55 (2nd overall)
- Michelle Nyström and Erik Fridolf (SWE), Team Garmin, 5:02:00
- Rhian Martin and Ben Martin (GBR), Team Drummond Clinic, 5:15:32
Women
- Annika Ericsson and Elisabet Pärsdotter Westman (SWE), Lag PärEric 5:28:58
- Charlotte Årling and Amanda Liljestrand (SWE), Team Arvika, 5:41:05
- Naomi Shinkins (IRL) and Melissa Dowell (GBR) Team ROYAL BAY Compression, 5:56:37
Fast facts ÖTILLÖ Swimrun Isles of Scilly 2017
- 2nd edition, 17 June 2017
- Race course 37, 5 km
- 29,5 km trail running
- 8 000 metres open water swimming
- 7 swim sections
- Longest swim 2 500 metres
- Longest run 7 700 metres
- 110 registered teams from 17 different nationalities
- With sprint race: 20 different nationalities and an extra 32 teams
About Swimrun and ÖTILLÖ
Swimrun is the fast growing sport where you in teams of two alternate trail running and open water swimming along a marked course. There is no time to lose – you run in your wetsuit and swim in your shoes! It is a unique sport and experience as you always race with a partner and the race course is in wild nature. The ÖTILLÖ Swimrun World Championship (ÖTILLÖ meaning island to island in Swedish) is the original swimrun race, renowned as one of the toughest one-day races in the world.
ÖTILLÖ Swimrun World Series 2017
Six qualifying races to ÖTILLÖ:
- ÖTILLÖ Swimrun Hvar, Croatia, 2 April -17 First edition!
- ÖTILLÖ Swimrun Utö, Sweden, 28 May -17
- ÖTILLÖ Swimrun Isles of Scilly, UK, 17 June -17
- ÖTILLÖ Swimrun Engadin, Switzerland, 9 July -17
- ÖTILLÖ Swimrun 1000 Lakes, Germany, 1 Oct -17 (qualifier to ÖTILLÖ 2018)
- ÖTILLÖ Swimrun XX – event to be officially confirmed, Nov -17 (qualifier to ÖTILLÖ 2018) First edition!
At each World Series event a sprint race is organised the previous day.
ÖTILLÖ The Swimrun World Championship
- 12th edition on 4 September 2017
- 75 km over and between 26 islands in the Stockholm Archipelago
- Renowned as one of the toughest one-day races in the world
Media Contact
Josefine Ås, pr@otilloswimrun.com, +33 6 79 04 23 46
For TV images / news cuts please contact Josefine Ås
